it's here -- the greatest malibu ever. ♪ >>> the clock keeps ticking on the fiscal cliff talks, plenty of pessimism a deal can get done before christmas. we bring in our gaggle. alfonso agular. blanche, i want to start with you. do the jet fumes of national mean anything anymore? i was confident that a post-election lame duck would sort of make it a lot easier for a deal to be cut but i am -- i'm pretty pessimistic this morning. >> well, i think they know, unfortunately, that there's probably a two-week cushion after the new year of some degree. but i also think that a lot of members got told that, you know, it doesn't look like anybody's going to work hard enough before christmas -- the christmas break so you're going to be here the week between christmas and new years. so there's a lot of scurrying going on up there. >> and members, they're prepared to stay? >> i think so. >> if they're prepared to stay, the incentive to cut the deal -- you take away a big incentive and that sometimes is helpful in negotiations. it's not just the cliff, you throw in another aspect, which is you assum